Eat It and Like It: Savannah gets its first Iron Chef this weekend

Wednesday

One of the most fascinating things I have learned since I started Eating and Liking is how varied the personalities are in a given restaurant.

Different meals, different personalities. That's how it goes. Talking to one may be nothing like talking to another.

A couple of weeks ago, I compared them to Robin Williams and Al Pacino. Some are introverts, others have yet to meet a spotlight they didn't like. It's the nature of the beast, and it makes what we are doing that much more fun.

So about two months ago, we decided to put together an event that would share that fun with you. You've watched the popular TV shows featuring chef competitions - now here is your chance to see some of Savannah's best on display in one location. Four great talents battling for the title of 2013 Iron Chef Savannah.

We approached a handful of chefs just after Thanksgiving, asking who would want to be a part of Iron Chef. Funny how the gossip mill starts churning. Within three days of me starting to ask around, I started getting emails from chefs in the area who wanted to be a part of this inaugural event. We couldn't have them all obviously, but we couldn't be any more excited about who we do have on board.

The Eat It and Like It Iron Chef Challenge will take place this Sunday at the Southern Women's Show. It will feature four chefs:

• Vincent Burns from The Olde Pink House

• Lauren Teague of 22 Square

• David Landrigan of Circa 1875

• Roberto Leoci from Leoci's Trattoria

It's a one-hour, two-plate format. Each chef (and one assistant) will have one hour to prepare two dishes for three judges, including a secret ingredient that they will find out about just before the competition begins. And trust me, this will be competitive.

I've been the recipient of a good bit of trash talking. Haha, very funny, we laugh it all off, but at the end of the day these chefs want to win. Bragging rights for a year are at stake.

"This is going to be so much fun," Chef Lauren says. She just took over at Andaz Savannah middle of last year and is very excited to share all of the wonderful things she is doing in their kitchen.

Chef David is very quietly chugging along at Circa 1875 gastropub. It took him about five minutes to sign on. "Let's do it," he said.

Chef Vincent keeps the Pink House at the top of any recommendation list in Savannah, and Roberto Leoci continues to work on his title of "chef least likely to say no" by getting involved as well. I tease them all at one time or another, but make no mistake, there is a lot of pride at stake.

I have been bouncing off the walls for a couple of weeks now in anticipation of Iron Chef Savannah. My partner, Senea Crystal, has too.

"We hope to bring Savannah an event that is not only fun to watch but is challenging for the participants," she says. "It's one thing to spend hours creating the perfect dish. It's another thing altogether to have to create something close to perfect in one hour and have a secret ingredient thrown into the mix."

I couldn't have said it any better myself.

The atmosphere will undoubtedly be fun. The Southern Women's Show is always a good time, and this event will be no different. I am told there will be cheering sections, noise makers and banners made. The best part for us, however, is putting some of Savannah's best food on display - for not only foodies, but anyone interested in the creative food process.

We are expecting some discussion about the dishes and food in general. There will be gift-card giveaways to each of the four participating restaurants during the hour that the chefs will be cooking, and other prizes, too. We are even going to pick one of our three judges from a random drawing. Find out how to enter right now at eatitandlikeit.com

The Eat It and Like It Iron Chef Challenge. 1:30 p.m. Sunday at the Southern Women's Show on Hutchinson Island.

Jesse Blanco is a local news anchor at WTGS and host of the Emmy-nominated "Eat It and Like It," Savannah's only TV show dedicated to its culinary scene. Visit him at www.eatitandlikeit.com or email jesse@eatitandlikeit.com.

QUICK BITES

• We can't do any of this without support from the community. In this case a big thanks to Izola's Country Cafe in Hinesville for coming on board as a sponsor for our Iron Chef Challenge. If you haven't stopped by there, and you find yourself in Hinesville, you need to stop in. Some of the best Southern cookin' in the area.

• Oh yeah, Valentine's Day. Hallmark demands we do something nice, right? Chocolate, anyone? One of my favorites is in Richmond Hill - please stop by and see my friends at All Things Chocolate and More. Ten seconds through the door, you are putting on 5 pounds. Trust me on that one. But it is all fantastic.

• Middle of February, never too early for the beach, right? Don't tell the weatherman. Gerald's Pig and Shrimp is worth a short drive to Tybee Island, and guess what? He's now serving beer and wine along with some of Savannah's best shrimp po-boys. Tell him I said hi.

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